How to find the perfect wedding dress

Shopping for your wedding dress is a very, very special experience. It's an opportunity for you to express yourself, and to create the look of your dreams, and there are so many endless styles, designs, and fabrics to choose from. 

So this is a great topic for you if you are about to get married and you are just starting your perfect wedding dress-finding journey. I'm here to help you with some tips and tricks on what I did when I found my perfect wedding dress so that you don't feel so overwhelmed and we can get you married. 

Tip #1: Determine your budget first

The first thing you want to do is determine your budget before you go shopping. This is going to help you narrow down potential choices, and I want you to do some research to see what types of wedding dresses are available in your price range. You also want to have realistic expectations when it comes to purchasing a dress within that budget. 

So what I did with my maid of honour is we went through a couple of websites and we just picked out five or ten different styles that I absolutely adored. Those styles fell in my price range as well. So I gave myself a budget of $2,000 max, and I was looking for dresses within that price range. And what I found is I had a very similar taste in the different brands and the different boutiques that I was shopping at. 

So when you're looking for a wedding dress, in my experience, I had to make a booking and I had to actually book in the specific dress style that I wanted to try on. So we made a booking for four boutiques on the Gold Coast, and I gave them five different dress choices. Now, what I did try to do is break up the style so that they all weren't the same. 

When you are looking for your perfect wedding dress, you do want to try different silhouettes, different shapes, and styles, because what you might like online is going to be completely different on your body type. 

You want to determine your budget first. You want to have a look online, have a look at the boutiques in your area, see what you're vibing with, and start getting an idea. Start saving some pictures to your phone, and send them to your friends, your bridal party, your family, your mum, and whoever's in your life. Start sending them options as well and get their opinion. But don't set the expectation too high either because you'll be so surprised what you end up finding. 

Tip #2: The silhouettes and the styles

So you want to take the time to get comfortable with the different styles that are out there. There are A-lines styles, ball gowns, and mermaid styles. There are a lot of different silhouettes. So to have that better understanding of what looks best on you and the overall feeling and the theme of your wedding day, you want to actually research a little bit of the styles that are out there. 

So then when you've got your dresses ready to go and you go shopping, you've got about five different silhouettes that you can try on, maybe even more. It's kind of like when you go shopping at a regular store, you know how you've got different types of dresses, you've got body con fitted styles, then you've got the A-line styles, then you've got really floaty, relaxed styles. It's exactly the same thing. You want to have fun with it. 

You want to pick a lot of different silhouettes, a lot of different styles, so that way you can get that feeling. Have champagne on the day with your girls or yourself and enjoy the journey. It is honestly a beautiful time and don't get caught up if you don't find the perfect silhouette or the perfect dress on the first go, either. 

Tip #3: Know what theme your dress represents

Something else I want to touch on is the theme of your wedding. So my wedding theme was a rustic garden rainforest theme. I also wanted my dress to kind of represent that. I also wanted my dress to represent my personality and the type of work that I put out in this world. And I also wanted my dress to represent my body and also represent my relationship. 

So yes, we can try on a thousand different dresses. Some might look great on you and some might not look good on you. But what we really need to get to the bottom of is how does it make you feel? Not what your mum says, not what your auntie says, not what your sister says. How do you feel? How does it represent you? 

This is your one big day. Does this dress make you feel like that princess wedding that you've always dreamed of? Do you feel like a princess? Does this dress give you a beautiful beach and relaxed energy? Can you move around? Can you eat food in it? Can you dance in it? Is it giving you freedom? 

It's really powerful to have some words with you as you try on dresses. So I would think about words such as, what is the theme of your wedding, and what is the personality that you're bringing into this relationship? What is your relationship personality? So it could be words like happiness, relax, fun, joy, sexy, you know, just any sort of word that represents your lifestyle, your relationship. And the theme of the wedding is really going to help you find that perfect dress. So having your words is really powerful. 

Tip #4: Explore different fabric options

Silk, satin or lace, and different levels of texture and movement in the dress. So when you're looking at fabrics, you want to consider how they move. Is it comfortable against your skin? Is it easy enough to be altered? Because with my dress, I didn't realise I had so many layers, and tailoring cost a thousand dollars to get my dress fitted at the right length. Also, my dress was super hot, but luckily it rained at my wedding. So it was a cool evening anyway. 

But think about the tail, the length, the heaviness, the feeling, what type of fabric is it, really try it on and think, where is your wedding? What are you eating? Are you gonna dance? Are you moving a lot? So really think about the fabrics. It's so important because this can make all the difference on the night and you do want to feel super comfortable. 

Tip #5: Consider the colour

This will dramatically affect the overall look of the dress. I want you to think of bold hues and classic whites and ivory. So many brides opt for simple white or ivory because you know those are the colours that you see often and they don't go out of style. However, if you are feeling adventurous, then you can try and go for a bolder colour. You can even try deep blues and deep reds. 

So for my dress, I actually went with a mushroom colour with ivory mixed in. It featured sparkles throughout it, too. So I didn't want to go a classic white dress. I loved the mushroom colour. But yes, don't be afraid of trying different colours on. But if you are going to go for a different colour, just remember that this is going to appear differently under different lighting conditions. So you want to test this out in natural light and also indoor lighting as well, so you can make the final decision. 

Tip #6: Ask your friends and family for some advice

Ask your friends and family for some advice on what they did when they were picking out their dresses. It is helpful. They have some tips from their experiences, such as where did they find their perfect dress. How much did they pay for it? What did they regret about their dress? That's a big one. 

You do want to ask them that question because it's important to get all the facts because when you go into this, you've got butterflies or maybe you're overwhelmed, maybe you're stressed, maybe you're busy with work. So sometimes you go into it not relaxed, and you'll pick a dress thinking, yep, this is it, this is the one. But then a few months out, you don't really love that dress anymore. 

It's important that you actually take the time to research, try on and try to book this a year before you get married so you've got time to take the time to try to find your perfect dress. 

Tip #7: Keep an open mind when you are shopping and trying on multiple styles

We've sort of touched on this already, but this is just about keeping an open mind when you are shopping and trying on multiple styles. I don't want you to be afraid to experiment with other styles, even if this means stepping outside of your comfort zone. The beauty about bridal boutiques is that there are usually many different silhouettes and you want to take advantage by trying them all so that you can find one that really, really speaks to you.

What you'll find is some boutiques you won't vibe with any of the dresses and then others you will. I also found there were different personality types as well, such as when one of the boutiques we went into was very formal, very clean, very professional, very by the book, and that's fine, that's their taste. 

Whereas another boutique we went into where I found my dream dress was totally different. The girls were really upbeat, the music was upbeat, and there were other brides having fun. It was a lot more relaxed. It just felt like I could be myself. And the girls were so helpful, they were laughing while making jokes and that is sort of the energy that I love to be around. That's my energy, and it just made me find the perfect dress. 

So really think about that. Don't get caught up on the thought that, it's me, I didn't find a dress because of me. It could be the boutique, it could be the style, it could be the wrong timing, and this is why it's really important that you plan ahead. 

Tip #8: You can have it altered

The last thing I want to mention is getting a seamstress and having it altered. So when you try on the dresses, some of them will be really big on you and they'll pin it back, which is great, but it's still not going to fit you like it will once you get it tailored. 

So with my wedding dress, I loved it. It was definitely a lot bigger on me and they tried to pin it back as best as they could, but I had to use my imagination to really see it fit on my body. So even if you find the right one, get it professionally altered because then it will fit you perfectly and it will fit with your body type. 

They'll do some small tweaks and it makes the difference on the day. Something else I would recommend and suggest is a budget for tailoring and maybe even getting an idea of what their prices are because I made the mistake of not knowing the pricing beforehand. So I ended up just paying for it and just didn't want to think about it after that. 

If there's anything I can give advice on, just be prepared to have that tailoring done. Look around and see what prices there are, or just have a little budget in mind, or even try and budget down your dress so that you can pay for tailoring. But it is worth it because the dress fitted perfectly for my body. I felt amazing on the day. 

And finally, make the most of it. 

You are about to have the most magical day. Enjoy the journey and have fun. Don't forget why you are there in the first place.

Love and light x